Lower Peak Forest Canal

Dukinfield Hall, Dewsnap Basin,Dewsnap New Pit & Astley Deep Pit

Introduction
The section of the Lower Peak Forest Canal between Dog Lane Bridge and the former Dewsnap Basin is steeped in history. The most ancient buildings were situated on the offside of the canal and these were
Dukinfield Hall, home of the Duckenfield family, and its adjoining chapel, Dukinfield Hall Chapel (Dukinfield Hall Congregational Church). The hall is believed to date from the late 15th century and it is possible that it
was built on the site of an earlier building. Originally it was a half-timbered building but parts of this were afterwards encased by brick walls.

Dukinfield Hall and its Chapel
The Duckenfield family were lords of Dukinfield from the 13th century until the mid-18th century. The most famous member of the family was Lieutenant Colonel Robert Duckenfield (1619 - 1689) who was a member of the Puritan faith.
He distinguished himself in battle for Oliver Cromwell's parliamentary cause. He took part in the defence of Manchester in 1642 and he was appointed the commander of Cromwell's forces in the North West in 1648.
In 1651 he commanded the forces that secured the Isle of Man and in 1653 he was appointed to Cromwell's Nominated Assembly, also known as the 'Parliament of the Saints' or 'Barebones Parliament'.
The Nominated Assembly first met on the 4 July 1653 but it had a life of less than six months. There were 129 representatives for England and Wales, five for Scotland and six for Ireland.
He also became a county High Sheriff. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Duckenfield died on the 18 September 1689 and was buried in the graveyard of St Lawrence's Church at nearby Denton,
his grave having a stone memorial (there is also a blue plaque on the front of Dukinfield Town Hall in his honour). Over the years the family amassed much land and property throughout Cheshire
and by the mid-17th century they owned the whole of Dukinfield, which is named after the family.

After years of neglect by its owners, the hall was divided into separate dwellings. After World War II it was in a very dilapidated condition and at this juncture it was declared unfit for human habitation.
The National Trust was approached to see if they would take it but they refused and as a result it was demolished in 1950.

The chapel (now known as Old Hall Chapel) is also believed to date from the late 15th century and it was the domestic chapel of Dukinfield Hall.
Extensive additions were made to it during the 19th century when it was incorporated as a transept of the new Congregational Chapel.
Eventually, the later chapel became dilapidated and unused and in 1980 a serious fire damaged the 19th century additions and most of the original building.
These parts were demolished in 1981 to leave only a small part of the original late 15th century building still standing.
Its condition is very bad and Historic England has funded an archaeological recording exercise. It is listed Grade II*, List Entry No. 1356422.
The remains of the chapel are best seen from the towpath of the Peak Forest Canal.

Dukinfield Hall. Engraving from John Aikin's,A Description of the County from Thirty to
Forty Miles Round Manchester, (1795).

Dukinfield Hall Spinning Company
This cotton-spinning mill was situated on the offside of the canal close to Dog Lane Bridge.

Young's Mill and Well Bridge Bleach Works
Situated on the offside of the canal between Dukinfield Hall and the canal was Young's Mill. This was also known as Old Hall Mill and later it was owned by Henry Bannerman & Sons Ltd. While cotton mills in this locality were
mainly concerned with cotton spinning, it is understood that Young's Mill also had a weaving shed. A short distance further along is Dukinfield Hall (or Well) Bridge and on the east side of Dunkirk Lane was
Well Bridge Bleach Works, which had its own wharf and was owned by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company for a while.

Dukinfield Hall Bridge was built to carry an ancient right of way between Dukinfield and Mottram in Longdendale over the canal. This runs from Astley Street and Globe Square onto Wellbridge Road and then over the
canal where its name changes to Dunkirk Lane. It then runs by the river Tame for nearly ¾ mile and then back up over the canal at Newton Hall Bridge (No. 4).

Such rights of way have existed for many centuries and they were formerly considered to be the only safe way to travel, since they avoided bogs and other obstacles.

Dewsnap Basin, Dewsnap New Pit and Astley Deep Pit
Next to the bleach works was the Dewsnap Basin Loading Stage, originally operated by the Dunkirk Colliery Company. By 1850, Dewsnap Basin was newly built and was still awaiting connections to coal mines.
The original Dewsnap Colliery was still extant but soon it was to be replaced by the Dewsnap Sidings of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company. This coal mine was connected to Dog Lane Basin by a
tramway running down Globe Lane. Dewsnap New Pit (aka Dewsnap Pit) had been sunk, as a replacement, 173 yards away from Dewsnap Basin and Astley Deep Pit (aka Astley Pit) had been sunk 467 yards away, off King Street, on the
north side of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway line. Eventually, there were tramway connections from both these pits to Dewsnap Basin where boats were loaded with coal.

The shaft of Dewsnap New Pit was sunk in 1845/46 and it was situated on the opposite side of Globe Lane to the canal. The pit was connected to Dewsnap Basin by means of a short tramway on an inclined plane that
crossed over Globe Lane on a bridge. This was a self-acting inclined plane in which descending full tubs were used to haul up empty ones under the action of gravity. In coal-mining vernacular, this type of plane was
known as a 'jig' and a 'jigger' (sometimes 'jagger') was a workman who attended the brake at the top of the plane to prevent tubs from running away.

In 1896, Dewsnap New Pit was employing 347 underground workers and 48 surface workers. The manager was Richard Clay and the under-manager was William Hyde. The Great and Roger seams were worked and the types of
coal mined were household and steam. The date of closure of Dewsnap New Pit is uncertain but it is likely that it was around the same time as that of Astley Deep Pit, which was in 1901.

Saturday, 7 May 1898. Report of the death of James Winterbottom, aged 63 year, coal miner
Like many others before him, James Winterbottom lost his life in the Dewsnap New Pit, Dukinfield, on Monday night, 2 May 1898, through not attending to the efficient propping or spragging of his working place in the Great Mine.
He ought to have set three or four props, but only fixed one, and he was overwhelmed (that is, the gallery roof collapsed). He had worked at the Victoria (Lakes) and Dewsnap New Pits for 54 years; and was in the
great explosion which occurred in the first named pit on Thursday, 14th June 1866, when 38 lives were lost.

Astley Deep Pit was larger than Dewsnap New Pit and its shaft was sunk in 1847. As the name implies, coal was gained from a great depth, recorded as 686½ yards. It was situated on the opposite side of Globe Lane
but, as stated above, at a greater distance from the basin than Dewsnap New Pit. It was connected to Dewsnap Basin by means of a tramway on an inclined plane that passed below Globe Lane.
This was a self-acting inclined plane and its mode of operation was the same as the Dewsnap New Pit inclined plane.

In 1896, this pit was employing 487 underground workers and 123 surface workers. The manager was Richard Clay and the under-manager was Alfred Taylor. The Black, Cannel and Peacock seams were worked and the types of
coal mined were gas, household and steam. Astley Deep Pit closed on the 7 August 1901 after a life of 54 years, which was far below estimates.

At this time, the Company Mining Engineer was William Mackenzie Reynolds, who was a Member of the Federated Institute of Mining Engineers, and he lived on Cheetham Hill Road, Dukinfield.

Following closure of these pits, operations to fill the shafts, together with those of Dog Lane Pit and Victoria Colliery, commenced in September 1903 and the work was undertaken by Underwood Brothers, Contractors.
In the case of Dewsnap New Pit, the work was done to prepare the site for the new Carriage and Waggon Works of the Great Central Railway Company. When this works was completed it was 28 acres in extent, including Dewsnap Sidings.

Astley Deep Pit shortly after closure in 1901.

Astley Deep Pit Disaster, 1874
On Tuesday, 14 April 1874 it was the scene of a disaster in which 54 men and boys lost their lives to leave 18 survivors who were either injured or entombed until they were rescued. A previously 'burnt' tunnel was
temporarily being repaired when the roof collapsed to release pockets of gas, generally known as 'damp'. As the men were working with open flame lamps the roof collapse triggered a huge explosion.

It had long been a widespread practice to make workings safe by deliberately burning off any damp present. The miner, whose job it was to do this highly dangerous and spectacular work, was known
as a 'fireman' or 'penitent'. He would enter the workings before the shift started dressed in rags soaked in water. He carried a lighted candle on the end of a long pole with which to ignite any
gas while lying face down on the floor. It was his appearance dressed in wet rags that gave rise to the name 'penitent'.

In the case of Astley Deep Pit, the workings had just been 'burnt' and were considered to be safe to work in using open flame lamps. However, the roof collapse allowed damp to enter the tunnel and so cause the
fatal explosion.

The pit disaster of 1874 was preceded by a smaller explosion that occurred 4 years, 1 month and 11 days earlier on the night of Thursday, 3 March 1870. In this explosion nine miners lost their lives and it occurred in the
Black Mine (seam) as a result of a shot being fired by one of the deceased, Solomon Cambridge.

Barn Meadow Mill
On the towpath side of the canal the principal building was the large Barn Meadow Mill, opened in 1835, which had its own private branch canal. By 1918 the building was closed as a mill and converted to an
electric accumulator works, known as the Tudor Accumulator Works and latterly owned by Messrs Courtney Pope. The building was demolished in the 1970s but the name of the accumulator works lives on in the
Tudor Industrial Estate.

Barn Meadow Mill, looking SE, 20 June 1965.

Barn Meadow Mill, looking NW, 20 June 1965.

Barn Meadow Mill, 20 June 1965.

The memorial to Robert Duckenfield at St Lawrence's Church, Denton, 10 January 2007.

ROBERT
DUCKENFIELD
1619 - 1689
IN MEMORY OF
ROBERT DUCKENFIELD
OF THE DUCKENFIELD ESTATES
A VALIANT SOLDIER
WHO DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF
IN BATTLE
FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY PARTY CAUSE
DURING THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR

A BELOVED HUSBAND AND
A FATHER OF EIGHT SONS
AND SIX DAUGHTERS

Description:
A blue plaque commemorating Robert Duckenfield, 6 April 2007.

Location:
To the right of the main entrance to Dukinfield Town Hall.

Inscription:

TAMESIDE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH
LIEUTENANT COLONEL ROBERT DUCKENFIELD
1619 - 1689
Robert Duckenfield of Dukinfield Hall,
a man of great Puritan faith,
distinguished himself in battle for
the Parliamentary cause during the
English Civil War. In 1651 he
commanded the forces which secured
the Isle of Man and in 1653 was
appointed to Cromwell's
'Little Parliament'

Built early Sixteenth Century and originally dedicated to
St James until the discovery in the mid-19th century
of a stained glass window to St Lawrence.
Affectionately known as 'Th' Owd Peg' because its framework
was fastened together with wooden pegs.
Resting place of John Angier, the famous Puritan divine
and of Colonel Robert Duckenfield, Tameside's
Civil War hero.

Sculpture commemorating Lieutenant Colonel Robert Duckenfield
Title of the work: Colonel Dukinfield.
Date: 1996.
Material: Stainless Steel.
Location: Dukinfield Park, King Street, Dukinfield.
Description: A three-metre high sculpture celebrating the English Civil War exploits of Colonel Robert Duckenfield.
The sculpture also incorporates a floor design and seats with educational reliefs telling the story of the Colonel and the town named after him.
It was commissioned from the studio of Stephen Broadbent and it is located in Dukinfield Park in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside.

Soldiers of Colonel Edward Montagu's Regiment of Foote performed a march-past at the statue unveiling ceremony. This was led by an officer on horseback and it included flying standards and drums and
finally a volley of musket fire.

The Regiment of Foote and the King's Army are part of the English Civil War Society.